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Victory Set Up Grand Final Re-Match

Melbourne City 1-3 Melbourne Victory

By Kieran Yap (20/3/22)

Above: Melbourne Victory celebrate reaching another Grand Final after defeating their cross-city rivals Melbourne City in today’s Preliminary Final. Photo: Melbourne Victory.

Melbourne Victory have secured a Grand Final appearance against Premiers Sydney FC after a 3-1 win over Melbourne City in the Preliminary Final.

The last time that these teams met, City dealt out a 5-1 thrashing to their local rivals. Hannah Wilkinson scored a record-equalling five goals that day, and stopping the in-form striker would be a priority for Victory.

After one of the most challenging seasons in his tenure, Jeff Hopkins had his team on the precipice of another decider. Victory has had to deal with significant injuries, COVID outbreaks, and a schedule that had them playing seven games in 23 days leading up to finals.

For the first time since round one, he had a full squad to choose from. With Amy Jackson returning to her favoured midfield position and Melina Ayres starting for the second week in a row, Victory had a familiar structure about them.

City had given up a two-goal lead against Sydney FC in the first semi-final. Crucially, they were missing Tyla-Jay Vlajnic and Melissa Barbieri. Both players were among City’s best this season, Vlajnic is both creative and experienced as a left-back, while Barbieri must be a contender as player of the season for the whole competition.

**Above:** Melbourne City’s Leah Davidson in possession. **Photo:** Melbourne City.

The opening stages of the match saw both sides attacking quickly, scoring first would be vital for either side. Melina Ayres had the first chance of the game. The ball bounced awkwardly on the recently watered pitch and fell beyond the City defence.

Ayres took an extra touch for control and tried to find the back post with her stabbed shot on goal. Sally James was beaten but it skidded wide of the goal. Rebekah Stott fired back for City with a long range effort that Casey Dumont saved in spectacular fashion.

Alex Chidiac was busy early, late, and all of the minutes in between. She seemed as surprised as the City defenders when she received the ball behind them and somehow onside.

James was quick to react and close down the space, what looked like a certain goal was another missed opportunity for Victory.

While City were able to move the ball forward, the back four of Victory were able to repel the attacks fairly consistently. They do not play a high line or flirt with off-side traps very often. Jeff Hopkins’ side plays a good, disciplined back four. They get goal side of the attackers and close to them. Rhianna Pollicina was unable to turn and face goal as often as normal and Wilkinson struggled to find space with international teammate Claudia Bunge paying close attention.

Ayres opened the scoring for Victory on the half-hour mark. She intercepted an Emma Checker pass and acted quickly, bursting into the area and sweeping her shot past James to make it 1-0.

**Above:** Melina Ayres (centre) celebrates after putting Melbourne Victory ahead. **Photo:** Melbourne Victory.

Victory fans have waited all season for Ayres to return to the squad. She had a breakout season last year and after dominating with South Melbourne in the NPLW there was real anticipation about what she could produce in 2021/22.

A persistent hamstring injury has kept her out of the side until the final round of the regular season. She scored what turned out to be the winning goal against Adelaide United in the semi-final and her goal in the Preliminary Final proved that it was worth the wait.

Catherine Zimmerman almost doubled the lead after Lia Privitelli found her with a perfect low cross. City could consider themselves fortunate when the ball flew over the bar.

The second goal arrived at the worst time for City but the best time for Victory. In the closing moments of the first half, Courtney Nevin’s corner fell invitingly at the back post and Bunge was on hand to finish from close range.

Victory continued to attack in the second half. Chidiac was tireless and creative and had the City players under pressure in possession and back pedalling when she was on the attack.

She was predictably involved in Victory’s third goal. She got the ball to Ayres in the penalty area who turned it into the path of Privitelli. The captain shot over James to make it 3-0 and give City a mountain to climb with the clock ticking towards the hour mark.

**Above:** Contested possession between Victory’s Kyra Cooney-Cross (left) and the City duo of Leah Davidson and Winonah Heatley. **Photo:** Melbourne City.

City had to attack and left themselves open to the counter-attack. Privitelli had the chance to make it four after a swift counter-attack but James saved well in the one-on-one situation.

Minutes later, City had a lifeline. Leticia McKenna sent in an excellent corner kick and Tori Tumeth headed well past Dumont. There were 10 minutes left on the clock, but crazier things have happened in the Dub.

Victory fans were still reluctant to celebrate early, and Hannah Wilkinson reminded them why when she got on the end of a Pollicina free kick in the 85^th minute. She had found space, was well-positioned but her effort narrowly missed the target.

That was the last clear chance of the game. Melbourne City’s season was over and although they slumped to the turf after the whistle they should be proud of their season. After finishing seventh in 2020/21 they had climbed to second. They played some spectacular football and introduced some new stars to the game.

Tori Tumeth and Kaitlyn Torpey in particular announced themselves as exciting new talents, while Winonah Heatley and Holly McNamara received Matildas call ups. Rhianna Pollicina is a much-improved player, adding frightening consistency to her considerable talent.

**Above:** Melbourne Victory players celebrate with their fans at AAMI Park after the match today. **Photo:** Melbourne Victory.

But the day belonged to Victory and they have a chance to retain the Championship. Jeff Hopkins’ side has overcome every challenge thrown their way this season and will have no fear of facing the Premiers. Sydney will be undoubtedly looking for revenge after last year’s dramatic last gasp extra-time defeat from the right foot of Kyra Cooney-Cross.

Both of these teams boast significant depth and brilliant talent in their squads. Neither has made the Grand Final by chance. Everything has led to next week’s match. Like last season’s decider, it is almost certain to be another classic.

Teams: MELBOURNE CITY (3-4-3): James, Tumeth, Checker, Heatley, Davidson, Stott, Torpey, Blissett, McKenna, Wilkinson, Pollicina. Substitutes: Karic, Majstorovic (GK), Malone, Thomas-Chinnama, van der Meer.

Scorer: Tumeth 80′.

MELBOURNE VICTORY (4-3-3): Dumont, Nevin, Hendrix, Bunge, Doran, Chidiac, Jackson, Cooney-Cross, Zimmerman, Ayres, Privitelli. Substitutes: Eliadis, Maizels (GK), Markovski, Murphy, Withers.

Scorers: Ayres 30′, Bunge 45+2′, Privitelli 53′.

Referee: Casey Reibelt.

Attendance: 1,306.

WA Night Series Semi-Final Wrap

This weekend, the semi-finals of Western Australia’s NPL Women’s Night Series took place. Ben Gilby rounds up the action (20/3/22).

Above: Balcatta Etna celebrate their semi-final win over Fremantle City. Photo: JASP Photography.

Next weekend, Balcatta Etna will take on the Northern Redbacks in the WANPL Women’s Night Series Cup Final after both sides celebrated semi-final wins.

Cup holders Balcatta Etna came from behind to claim a 2-1 win against Fremantle City at E&D Litis Stadium.

Balcatta replied to Freo taking the lead in style. Angelique Alberts levelled matters and a sensational winner from Cawley which now gives the side a chance to retain the trophy – a perfect boost going into the new WANPL Women’s season.

They will now face Northern Redbacks who defeated Perth SC 2-1. After a goalless first half, Jayna Ridley and Larissa Walsh were on target for the Redbacks. Perth had an opportunity at the death to level matters, but to no avail.

**Above:** Balcatta Etna celebrate a goal against Fremantle City in the WANPL Women’s Night Series Cup Semi-Final. **Photo:** Jasp Photography.

Preliminary Final Preview: Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory

Ahead of Sunday’s Preliminary Final where Melbourne City host cross-city rivals Melbourne Victory for the right to travel to Sydney FC for the Grand Final, Impetus’ Ben Gilby heard from City striker Hannah Wilkinson and head coach Rado Vidosic (19/3/22).

Above: Melbourne City striker Hannah Wilkinson speaking to the media on Friday. Photo: Melbourne City.

Melbourne City striker Hannah Wilkinson opened her media conference by reflecting on the frustrations of last week’s defeat to Sydney FC in the semi-final.

“We were pretty deflated after the match, it was a pretty wild game. We were inches away from getting into the Grand Final. It sucked, it really did. That’s football though, and we have a chance still and we’re fully focussed.”

City go into Sunday’s Preliminary Final with Melbourne Victory without the suspended pair of Tyla-Jay (TJ) Vlajnic and Melissa Barbieri. Wilkinson admitted that those players will be a big loss, but she knows their replacements are more than good enough to step-up.

“It’s an extra bummer losing two key players and we do have depth in the squad. Sally (James) is an excellent keeper. She’s ready and has been pushing ‘Bubs’ (Barbieri) in training anyway and she’s confident. In terms of TJ, we have Chelsea Blissett available. As a squad, we have players ready. We’re ready to bounce back from last week’s war of a game!”

The last time Wilkinson faced Melbourne Victory, she put in an incredible personal performance scoring all of City’s goals in a 5-1 win. The New Zealand international admits that she dreaming of a re-run.

“It was very satisfying for sure. I’d love to see that repeated. It was an ideal team performance. I was there to put away all of the hard work that the team put together. I hope we put together that performance again.”

“Victory are certainly not a team not to be taken for granted. They’ve got some extremely talented players. It will be another fight, they have been in lots of Finals before. It will be different from last time that’s for sure.”

“We need to want it more than them and play the kind of football that we know wins games and scores goals. We’re capable of playing nice football and it is so beautiful to play. We have the players to do it and now just want to go on to the Grand Final and win it.”

**Above:** Melbourne City head coach Rado Vidosic at yesterday’s media conference. **Photo:** Melbourne City.

Melbourne City head coach Rado Vidosic dismissed thoughts that his side will go into Sunday’s Preliminary Final on the back foot after defeat at Sydney FC in last week’s Semi-Final.

“No, not at all. We’ve been through the footage of the game and went through a few things. It is not hard to re-motivate the players for a Derby and we are very much still in the competitions. Training has been very good, so we are looking ahead to Sunday.”

Despite last week’s semi-final defeat in Sydney, City’s head coach saw plenty of positives to take out of the game. “We made progress between the last time we played Sydney FC away (a 3-0 loss). We came so close last week to going through and hosting the Grand Final. We can take that progress out of that game. We want another chance to play them in Sydney by winning on Sunday.”

The Sky Blues will go into Sunday’s Preliminary Final without both Tyla-Jay (TJ) Vlajnic and Melissa Barbieri due to suspension. Vidosic outlined the reshuffle he will perform. “Chelsea Blissett will come in for TJ and Sally James for Bubs (Barbieri). It’s player for player and gloves for gloves. A straight swop. Now is not the time to try things out.”

There may be a need for further changes to City’s squad ahead of the match. “We have a couple of niggling injuries. Someone was also sick, but they came back yesterday. We just need to see how those injuries clear up on Saturday before making final decisions. We are happy and ready. Last time we played them, we did well (a 5-1 win on Boxing Day).”

This time though, City will face a very different Victory team to the one they faced previously as the Sky Blues head coach recognized.

“Maybe their current group of players has more experience than our current group. Yet some of us have won before. Melissa Barbieri has been there and done it for 20 years. One thing that we do have is a good lead-up to the Finals. We had good performances and good results. We will show that on Sunday.”

The Swedish Scene

Above: Courtney Nevin (left) and Kyra Cooney-Cross (right) who both signed for Hammarby this week. Photo: Football Australia.

Back for the new season and offering more content and features than before – it’s Impetus’ coverage of women’s football in Sweden. Ben Gilby rounds up some of the transfer news ahead of this weekend’s Svenska Cupen Semi-Finals (19/3/22).

MATILDAS DUO HEAD TO HAMMARBY

Hammarby‘s Women’s Sporting Director Johan Lager has spoken of his joy on the club website at securing the signings of Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin from Melbourne Victory this week. Lager also revealed that he has been trying to sign Cooney-Cross for some time.

**Above:** Kyra Cooney-Cross – finally moving to Hammarby after being trailed by the Stockholm club for some time. **Photo:** Football Australia.

He said: “In Kyra we get a player who is already established in senior football despite her relatively young age. Since her national team debut in the summer of 2021, Kyra has been selected regularly for Australia, one of the world’s best national teams, and is predicted to have a bright future.

“We’ve been scouting Kyra for a long time and trying to get her here before, so it’s nice that it pays to be stubborn. We get a versatile midfielder who can play in several positions and she is an athletic player. We are convinced that she is a player who will be worth seeing and help us continue to take steps towards the top of the Damallsvenskan. It feels great to finally get Kyra here.”

Cooney-Cross herself is looking forward to the challenge. The former Western Sydney Wanderers player said: “I am very happy to come to Hammarby and take on a new challenge and chapter in my career. I’ve heard very nice things about the club and the team and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

**Above:** Courtney Nevin in action for Australia last year. **Photo:** Football Australia.

Nevin’s arrival sees one of Australia’s best young defenders join the Stockholm-based side, and that is something that Lager is excited about. “With Courtney, we get a strong defender who can play both full-back and centre-back. She is also a player who is already in the Australian national team.

“Courtney is a fast player and has good character. She will be able to contribute both to our defence but also to our attacking game. With Courtney, we get better coverage in the squad in all positions and we are also convinced that we get cutting edge qualities in the team. We are extremely happy that Courtney choose us over others and we see her as a very important piece of the puzzle to achieve our goals.”

Nevin also spoke about her pride of joining the club: “I am extremely excited to come to Hammarby and am grateful for the opportunity to come to such a nice club and look forward to getting started and meeting my new teammates. The Damallsvenskan is a very good league that will develop me as a player,” she said.

The pair will travel to Sweden after the conclusion of Melbourne Victory’s A-League Women Finals campaign. They face Melbourne City in the Preliminary Final this Sunday.

TRANSFER NEWS IN BRIEF:

**Above:** Jacqueline Burns, newly arrived at BK Häcken from Northern Ireland’s Glentoran. **Photo:** Glentoran.

BK Häcken have announced several signings. First, Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns from Glentoran on a two-year contract. Norwegian international midfielder Andrine Hegerberg has additionally joined from AS Roma in Italy. The deal is for two years. A third arrival has seen Marika Bergman Lundin, a midfielder who played for IK Uppsala in the second-tier Ellitettan last season. Also on board is Icelandic attacking midfielder Agla Maria Albertsdottir from Breidablik.

Newly promoted IK Brommapojkarna have announced a couple of new arrivals. First, midfielder Vaila Barsley. The Scottish player had previously played at Eskilstuna United. They additionally brought in Filippa Wallén from Vittsjö.

**Above:** New Djurgården signing Lova Lundin. **Photo:** Umeå IK.

Djurgården have brought in two strikers. Lova Lundin has joined from French side Soyaux after previously representing Umeå IK. The second arrival is Swedish U23 international Sara Lilja Vidlund who was at KIF Örebro.

AIK have brought in Jamaican international Chinyelu Asher on a one-year deal from Washington Spirit.

Linköping announce the arrival of Japanese international Saori Takarada from Washington Spirit.

**Above:** Joanna Aalstad Bækkelund who joined Eskilstuna United from Lyn. **Photo:** Lyn Oslo.

Eskilstuna United added Norwegian defender Joanna Aalstad Bækkelund who comes from Norwegian side Lyn.

SVENSKA CUPEN SEMI-FINALS

Artwork: Svensk Fotboll.

This weekend sees the last four face off. Today, Hammarby host BK Häcken ahead of tomorrow’s clash between Rosengård and Eskilstuna United.

THIS SEASON’S COVERAGE ON IMPETUS:

Our coverage of the 2022 OBOS Damallsvenskan and second-tier Elitettan is set to be bigger and better than ever as the competitions kick-off next weekend and the weekend after respectively.

Every Tuesday during the season will be our round-up of every match in the Damallsvenskan in words and pictures which, for the first time this year will contain video footage of key goals and moments from matches. The most important games in the Elitettan will also be covered as before.

We’ll also have the weekly league tables, National Team news, transfer news, and gossip from around the Swedish women’s football scene plus coverage of the Swedish clubs in UEFA Women’s Champions League action.

During the season there will also be interviews with players and coaches as well as club profiles. Make Impetus your source of news from Swedish women’s football this season.

Thorpe St. Andrew: Putting Side Before Self

Above: Thorpe St. Andrew FC. Photo: Thorpe St. Andrew FC.

In the first of a two-part interview, Thorpe St. Andrew defender Georgie Rumney and manager Tony Allen from the Tier Seven Norfolk Women & Girls Football League side spoke to Darrell Allen about their footballing backgrounds, philosophies, and the season to date (17/3/22).

Georgie Rumney is in just her second season of football, and already in her second different position.

“I’ve been playing for Thorpe St. Andrew Ladies for two seasons now, though this is my first full season due to all the COVID disruptions. I started as goalkeeper but, after breaking a finger in the line of duty, I found my true calling as a centre-back and my informal role as the ‘Colossus on the back line’.

In comparison, the club’s manager Tony Allen has had a lot of experience in the game. “It was Paul Neary at the University of East Anglia (UEA) who first got me into coaching. I owe him a great deal, it was a real education and I had a fantastic time doing all sorts of different things with both the men’s and women’s clubs there.

“I’ve been lucky enough to watch and learn from some fantastic coaches and managers like Paul Neary and Ray Harrison, Bex Burton and Harry Diggens at UEA and going back a bit further, Danny Wilson, Ian Butterworth, Chris Turner, and Colin West at Hartlepool United.

“I watch games back now that I originally watched from the Mill House as a fan when I was nine or 10 years old in a completely different way and understand a bit more the factors influencing their decisions.”

Tony also spoke to me about his coaching philosophy. “It is grounded by an unwavering belief in Billy Bremner’s idea of ‘side before self’ where the team is paramount and that is non-negotiable.

“I believe you can learn something from everyone, but I would like to list a few major influences for different reasons: John Beck, Neil Warnock, Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Dave Bassett, Johan Cruyff, Graham Westley, Brian Clough, and Ladislaz Lozano who took Calais to the Coupe de France final in 2000 – one day I’ll write a proper tactical analysis of how he did it, the man was a very, very astute football manager and to just call him pragmatic would be to do him and his team a gross disservice. “Not to mention Hope Powell, Gemma Davies, and Emma Hayes – top, top coaches who I sincerely hope I get the chance to meet and work with one day.”

Tony then went on to explain about his time so far with the club. “I joined Thorpe St. Andrew at the very end of last season, so I was able to use the summer to get to know everyone and let the new faces in the squad gel with the group. I see myself as more of an old-school manager. I love nothing more than being out on the grass, but we’ve also got great coaches at the club who are full of ideas, run engaging training sessions for the girls and feed into our decision making.”

Prior to the beginning of the season, there was a re-structure within the Norfolk Women and Girls League and Thorpe St. Andrew found themselves in Step Seven, something that was met with mixed emotions at the club as Georgie told me.

**Above:** Thorpe St. Andrew’s Georgie Rumney. **Photo:** Paul Langley.

“Being put into Division One certainly wasn’t something any of us were excited to hear, especially after we had been focusing our pre-season games on getting ready for Division Two, but the team overall was very optimistic. We saw it more as an opportunity to pit ourselves against some very good teams and players and see if we could rise to the challenge.

“In that way I certainly agree the season so far has been a massive success for us, we always turn up and play our best game no matter the opponent and we have improved exponentially as a result”

Tony revealed that he had aimed to field two teams this season, something that the jump up to Division One prevented. “Well, the original plan was to have two teams, one in Division One and one in Division Two. When it became apparent the club would not be able to sustain two teams, it was too late to just enter Division Two and so the lower team had to go.

“I had designed and delivered a really good pre-season to prepare us for Division Two, so naturally that was incredibly frustrating. Charles Dickens was correct: the law, sometimes, is an ass. Our case was a bit different to that of Thetford, Stalham, Beccles, and North Walsham, as by the time of the league restructuring we would have been in Division One regardless of whether it was a two or three league system.

“Therefore, at the SGM I voted for two divisions with gritted teeth and out of pure self-interest – it was made clear to us that there was no chance of us moving down, so having a larger division with teams originally in Division Two was the lesser of two evils for us.

“But at the end of the day what happened, happened. Running a league is a thankless task generally done very well by volunteers. And while there are still unanswered questions about the way our league placement was handled, we can’t change it now and the most impressive thing is how superbly well the likes of ourselves and North Walsham have done to carry on through what we knew would be a demoralizing season.

“We created our own achievable goals and took a long-term view. We could have approached the season with a massive chip on our shoulder and probably would have ended up folding, but we took the opposite approach, lifted all the pressure off the players, and their positive reaction to that says a lot about their attitude and desire to play. And adversity is great for finding out who your friends are in football. Certain managers in the league were incredibly magnanimous and encouraging especially in the early days – things like that stick with you.”

Tony then went on to tell me that expectations have been exceeded this season. “We have had ups and downs as every team does over the course of a season, but I would definitely agree. Of course in adult football you want to win games first and foremost, but the players have absolutely exceeded my expectations with the speed and level of improvement they have shown this season.

**Above:** Thorpe St. Andrew manager Tony Allen. **Photo:** Paul Langley.

“It has been a steep learning curve, they needed to adapt quickly, and they have done so, establishing a real team identity and core values, bringing pride back to the club.”

Thorpe St. Andrew’s head coach spoke of his huge pride in the team this season. “Every single player who has pulled on a pink and black shirt this season has been absolutely superb and given everything for the team. I feel like I could burst with pride every time I open my mouth to talk about them. Without going into detail, some of our players have overcome immense personal battles just to get on the pitch this season.

“If I’m going to name a few names, I’ve got to start with Emily Warnes. A true leader who has worked her way through the age groups at Thorpe, her effort and application is second to none – she’s a good communicator, has played all over the pitch, and not once have I ever seen her come off the pitch with anything left to give. She’s just as likely to come up with a goal-saving block or interception in minute 90 as minute one. At Christmas, she was deservedly voted Players’ Player of the half-season by her peers.

“I brought over Madison Wilson from UEA because she is coachable, intelligent, makes things happen, and drives us forward. Mads is another player who like Emily exemplifies ‘side before self’ – her non-stop effort and graft makes her a hugely respected figure in the dressing room.

“We have several girls who have come up from under 16 football into the adult game – that transition is never easy anyway, but our position made it even more challenging – Elizabeth Nichols is a constant threat and has scored some exceptional goals, and Tayla Woodhouse plays with the maturity of someone double her age. Also a huge shoutout to Helen Crook who had never played football before this season but has become a rock in goal, saving us on many occasions – she alone kept us in the game first half at home against North Walsham which we went on to win.

“Many players have got used to different positions, and I’ve challenged them with new formations and tweaks to their roles. Abi Langley’s attitude is superb and she also runs our brilliant team Instagram account. Tash Frankland has always been a classy ballplayer but has improved immensely in the gritty side of her game this season – she is also instrumental to the team’s chemistry off the pitch.

“Ellen Saw has played every position on the pitch without once complaining and has got a couple of excellent assists to show for it. Georgie Rumney, Ellen Boucher, and Abi Simmons are a manager’s dream, three great examples of how applying yourself in training pays off and gives you confidence to perform on a Sunday. Georgie has only been playing a couple of years and is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.

“Chloe Musson has shown great consistency and character, being put in a position she’s never played before, and has absolutely excelled every week, always putting herself on the line for the team and giving me lots of useful information from the perspective of the team. Grace Jackson often goes under the radar but we simply couldn’t play the way I want us to without her. When she has a good day, more often than not the team has a good day. She also volunteered to play in goal when Helen broke her finger which tells you everything you need to know about her character.”

Part Two will appear in the near future.

Young Matildas Heading To The World Cup

Above: Young Matildas eligible players Hana Lowry of Perth Glory (left) and Western Sydney Wanderers’ Bryleeh Henry (right) pictured with head coach Leah Blayney. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Football Australia.

(16/3/22)

The Young Matildas have been confirmed as one of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) three representatives at this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup which Costa Rica will host.

This will be the first time since 2006 that Australia will participate in a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, and their third overall appearance at the youth championships.

Originally planned for 2020, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will run from 10th-28th August 2022 across the two host cities of San José and Alajuela.

With the cancellation of the 2022 AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup, the standings of the 2019 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship were used to determine the representatives from Asia. Following the withdrawal of North Korea from the nomination process, Australia received an invitation courtesy of being the next highest-ranked Member Association from the 2019 edition.

A participant the last time Australia took their place in the U-20 World Championship, head coach Leah Blayney expressed her delight at the news and the importance of the opening presented to her young charges.

“The opportunity for our Young Matildas to show the world their abilities as individuals, and as a group, will be a game-changer for women’s football moving forward,” Blayney said.

“Very few youth players get the opportunity to play on the world stage and this is a tournament that has introduced us to global superstars like Marta, Christine Sinclair, Alex Morgan, Dzsenifer Marozsán, and Asisat Oshoala.”

**Above:** The Young Matildas in training. **Photo provided to *Impetus* by:** Football Australia.

“The last time we qualified in 2006, I was a player, and to now have the chance to lead these young women to the tournament, it fills me with great pride but also determination to ensure we maximise the opportunity. This has come at a fortuitous moment where we as a nation are actively seeking higher-level match minutes for our youth players at all levels.”

“This class of players have demonstrated through their performances in the A-League Women’s competition that they have enormous potential, and this could accelerate their football education. The impact this will have moving forward for the 2024 Paris Olympics, 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2032 Brisbane Olympics is phenomenal.”

Football Australia CEO, James Johnson, welcomed the inclusion of the Young Matildas said: “The participation of the team in this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, will be a significant moment for the next generation of players.

“Under the guidance of Leah Blayney, over the past 12 months, we have seen several players from this cycle transition into the senior team. Now many more of the U-20 players will have the invaluable experience of preparing for a major tournament that will provide critical experiences of high-level international minutes against a diverse range of opponents.”

The 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica will be the 10th edition of the tournament and features 16 nations from six confederations with players born on or after 1 January 2002 eligible to compete.

The participating teams will be divided into four groups of four teams with the Official Draw scheduled to take place in San José, Costa Rica on 5 May 2022.

Michelle Heyman On The Need For Change

Above: Canberra United’s Michelle Heyman (left) captured in full flow against Brisbane Roar earlier this season. Photo: Canberra United.

Canberra United captain and the A-League Women’s all-time record scorer Michelle Heyman spoke to the media this week highlighting the need for the competition’s players to be seen as professionals and the need for a fairer league. The striker also reviewed the club’s season. Impetus’ Ben Gilby heard from The Matildas and Canberra United legend.

Michelle Heyman is a legend of Australian football. When she speaks, players and fans listen. After hearing a series statements from the striker expressing her frustration with those running the A-League Women, one can only hope that the powers that be take note as well.

“This was the most stressful season I’ve ever been part of. Games and kick-off times changed every single week, which produced a whole lot of stress. I felt sorry for Melbourne Victory for playing so many games close together and Newcastle Jets who just ran out of players in the end.”

Whilst no-one could have predicted the COVID outbreaks that impacted both Victory and the Jets (along with many other clubs), Heyman highlighted the fact that the inability to extend the season to avoid such a huge backlog of games demonstrated a failure to understand women’s football.

“It’s about time we changed and were seen as professionals. We’ve become the A-Leagues – football is one and we need to be treated as one. The women need to get together and push for this. Most of us have to work during the season, so having to try and get time off for midweek rearranged games (particularly for long-distance ones) is an additional stress on us. Some of the standards haven’t been up to it. It’s our time. We need to speak up for where we are at. I’ll continue to be as loud as possible because we deserve it. It’s taking too long to get what the players want.”

Heyman was asked if she hopes that all the additional challenges put on players this season across the competition could end up being the final driver for the sort of change that players and fans have been calling for.

**Above:** Showing frustration – Michelle Heyman (right) – pictured against Melbourne City. **Photo:** Canberra United.

“I bloody hope so,” the striker smiled, “I’ve been here since 2008/09 season and it’s been a long time for myself. You would think that by now we would have had a full home and away season to play each other twice. Some teams only play the top teams once, others twice. The competition isn’t fair from the get-go.”

Canberra United’s captain then turned her focus on her team’s 2021/22 campaign. “Frustrating is the word that sums the season up. Having so many draws (seven of the club’s 14 games) – if we had got one or two wins from those draws could have made such a difference. Looking at the season and how we turned it round over the last four games makes it frustrating.

“We dominated teams in that period. We lost the same number of games as Adelaide (five) all season and they made the Finals. Looking ahead for next season, we have to take all our chances and make sure you do come out with the wins. We need to work on the last 15 minutes and not conceding. Teams came back to get draws or wins against us during that period.”

Heyman took huge pride about the development of her club’s younger generation of players across the campaign. “I look at Sasha Grove from last season to this and she’s come on the field and took players on and now she has that experience. She’s had two years now, she’ll be 18 now and these young players are getting that bit older and more experience.

“With Chloe Lincoln (who only turned 17 in January), she is a goalkeeper and has so much pressure. She took it with both hands and was our Rising Star this season. It’s a great thing for Canberra, but also for the league to showcase and show everyone what is to come. If this is what we’ve got, it’s nice to see the growth within our game.”

The media conference closed with potentially the best possible news for all lovers of Australian women’s football as Heyman outlined her future plans.

“Most definitely I will be back next season. I’m loving the game. I feel fit, I’m still scoring goals and doing my job. No-one can stop me yet. There’s a few more players who are 34 and even older than me. I don’t want to give up. Don’t let it go until you can’t. So I’m continuing until people tell me I’m not good enough. I’ve still got it, so they’re not taking it away from me yet!”

The View From France

Jean-Pierre Thiesset summarizes the 16^th round of D1 Arkema (15/3/22).

What a strange and desperate round! The two “supposedly” best teams in French league could not win. Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 with sixth placed Montpellier, and Lyon were held 1-1 against bottom club Saint-Etienne. These two results are not very reassuring with the UEFA Women Championships’ League games coming up in two weeks.

Issy away from home won 1-0 against Dijon. It was a logical win for Issy in an even game where Batcheba Louis (24 years old), from Haiti, scored at the 73^rd minute with a beautiful shot. With this second consecutive win, Issy continues to move up in the standings and can still stay in D1 for next season. Goal for Issy from Batcheba Louis (73).

Reims won 1-0 away from home against Guingamp. In another equal game, and in which there were a lot of stray passes and lost possession (around only 60% of successful passes for each team), Reims scored at the very end of the match thanks to Océane Deslandes after a great pass from Rachel Corbos. With this win, Reims consolidate their seventh place in the league. Goal for Reims from Océane Deslandes (90).

Bordeaux away from home won 3-0 against Soyaux. In a game edged by Bordeaux, the visitors was a little bit more efficient even if they had to wait until the 90^th and three minutes into stoppage time to score their second and third goals. Bordeaux and Montpellier are now both on 26 points in fifth and sixth place in the standings respectively. Goals for Bordeaux from Julie Dufour (53), Mélissa Gomes (90), Maëlle Garbino (90+3).

Paris FC won 3-1 at home against Fleury. In this important game between two teams battling it out for the third Champions League qualifying spot, Paris FC dominated this game and Fleury, despite the fact they put a lot of impact suffered. Paris FC, which had lost against Fleury last week in France Cup, were able to react. After their goal in the 13^th minute and up to the first goal of Paris FC, Fleury thought that they could do it again and beat Paris FC. On the second and third goals for Paris FC, Katriina Talaslahti, Fleury’s goalkeeper, alone in front on Paris FC strikers, got a touch on the shots but not enough to prevent them from going into goal.

Paris FC are now nine points ahead of Fleury but nothing is completely decided because they had four big games (Paris SG and Montpellier at home, Lyon and Bordeaux away from home) in their future schedule while Fleury had only one big game against Lyon at home. Goals for Paris FC from Mathilde Bourdieu (27, 61), Clara Matéo (88). Goal for Fleury from Dominika Grabowska (13).

Paris Saint-Germain at home drew 0-0 against Montpellier. This game was edged by Paris SG (61% possession). All along the game, Montpellier were aggressive and put a lot of pressure on Paris SG players. For Paris SG, Paulina Dudek, their captain, had to be replaced at the 20^th minute due to injury. PSG were lacking support, presence, and accuracy in front of the goal; Marie-Antoinette Katoto was several times alone with no solution proposed by her teammates. Even if Sandy Baltimore entered at half time, the strong pressing of Montpellier did not allow Paris SG to develop their game. This combined with the great performance of Gabrielle Lambert, Montpellier goalkeeper, allowed Montpellier to obtain a deserved draw.

Olympique Lyonnais were held 1-1 away from home against Saint-Etienne. In this game, Lyon were dominant (65% possession, 28 shots with 13 on target, nine corners), yet they were below par throughout. How they could not score more than one goal from 28 shots is a staggering and a such lack of efficiency in front of the goal for the “supposedly” best team in the world is not only a shame but also very disturbing. Even if we must point out the great performance of Emily Burns, Saint-Etienne goalkeeper, we have to say that she was helped by the poor shooting of Lyon strikers in the six yards area with most of the shots straight at her.

There are also question marks about Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor’s team selection for the match. Why was Griedge MBock played in front of the defence, where she is obviously not at ease, instead of reintegrating Damaris Egurrola, who was available, in the team and put MBock back in the central defense instead of Kadeisha Buchanan? Why not try to put Sara Gunnarsdottir in midfield during the second half? Why not put Janice Cayman, who produced great performances each time she is on the field upfront from the beginning of the game? A lot of questions and a lot of disturbing thoughts before the UEFA Women’s Champions League in two weeks. Goal for Lyon from Melvine Malard (79). Goal for Saint-Etienne from Manon Uffren (73).

Pride For Park As They Hit Five

Belper Town 3-5 Pride Park

Above: Maja Znamirowska completes the scoring for Pride Park with her fourth goal of the afternoon at Belper Town. Photo: Shaun Hardwick.

By Doug Outt (15/3/22).

Pride Park overcame the odds to end a run of five games without a win with victory at Belper Town on Sunday in the tier seven Derbyshire Ladies League Division One.

After another break of four weeks without a game, the Pride returned to action at Alton Manor. The two previous games between the sides this season were very close and entertaining encounters with honours shared at a win apiece. Another closely fought game was expected.

Park were missing several players through injury or unavailablity, leaving them a little short of the ideal matchday squad overall and in defence in particular – striker Annie Laight had to drop in at centre-back. Pride were therefore pleased to welcome another striker, Summer Evans, back for her first game in two months following injury, as well as Otty Baker and Izzy Wilsoncroft (making her 50th appearance) for their first games in three and two months respectively.

The game was typical of the games between the sides this season, with both teams intent on attacking, resulting in an end-to-end game, with both Belper and Pride Park having brief periods where they appeared to be edging it, without ever being comfortable.

It was tit-for-tat throughout the first half. Summer Evans opened the scoring for The Pride, meeting a cross from Tash Allderidge with an acrobatic scissor kick after nine minutes. This was followed by a period of Belper enjoying good possession, and having a couple of glimpses of goal, both foiled by Jade Howell, before they equalised after 21 minutes.

**Above:** Summer Evans (centre) marked her return from injury for Pride Park with a goal and two assists at Belper Town on Sunday. **Photo:** Shaun Hardwick.

It looked like Evans had restored Park’s lead five minutes later, until Belper’s keeper got down to turn a goal-bound shot around the post, but after 27 minutes the visitors were back in front, when good build up play by Beth Thompson and Evans allowed Hannah Kwiatek to put Maja Znamirowska through to score.

Belper equalized again ten minutes later, but were only level for a minute this time, as Evans was first to a Belper goal kick and laid off a pass for Znamirowska for a first time right foot finish to make it 3-2.

There were still eight minutes to half time, but Belper only needed two minutes to draw level again. It was almost a surprise there were no further goals and at half-time it was all square at 3-3.

Park made a couple of minor adjustments to their approach for the second half which seemed to work to an extent, as they enjoyed much better possession. Belper were proving difficult to break down, however, and the visitors had to remain wary of the threat on the counter-attack, but although Belper had slightly more sights of goal, it was The Pride who made theirs count, with a further two goals scored by Znamirowska – within two minutes of coming back on after being rotated off for a brief rest – with assists from Lottie Bryan and Evans respectively.

Although Belper attempted to recover, Park defended well and limited them to a couple of chances, a shot from distance saved by Howell and a shot that went wide.

**Above:** Possession is contested at Belper Town on Sunday. **Photo:** Shaun Hardwick.

Laight grew into her central defensive role as the game progressed, not only defensively solid but composed on the ball when in possession, forming an encouraging partnership with Sophie Ayton.

Aside from a couple of occasions when shots had to be blocked, Howell had good protection but when called upon, did exceptionally well with a number of shots, showing good reactions, agility and handling.

The work of the whole team out of possession has to be recognized as every player put in a shift and defended from the front when the visitors didn’t have the ball; the role of Eliot Sayavong – particularly in the second half – being a key factor as she screened the back four well, and together with Allderidge, made important blocks and interceptions to break up Belper attacks and The Pride’s counter-attacks.

Znamirowska and Evans were clinical with their chances with six shots between them, all on target, and five resulting in goals.

It was, once again, a closely fought and enjoyable game and Pride Park were pleased to come out on top. As always, there’s things that could be improved on but, overall, and in the circumstances, this was a good performance and result, particularly as it was the team’s first game in a month and with so many players returning from long layoffs. Next week Pride Park are at Wirksworth (kick-off 1.30pm).

Dons Edge Enfield To Keep Title Dreams Alive

AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Enfield Town

Above: Hannah Billingham about to score AFC Wimbledon’s winning goal against Enfield Town yesterday. Photo: Glyn Roberts.

By George Jones – AFC Wimbledon Ladies (14/3/22)

Hannah Billingham produced a finish worthy of winning any game to earn a hard-fought victory for the Dons in the FA Women’s National League Division One SE on Sunday.

Billingham struck an absolute rocket into the top corner with her weaker right foot, and her 55th-minute goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win for a Wimbledon side who lost key striker Ashlee Hincks to injury after just 10 minutes. Kevin Foster’s side are third in the table with games in hand on leaders Hashtag United, so it’s still all to play for in the title chase for Wimbledon.

Yesterday’s match marked a welcome return to Plough Lane after a spell of playing home matches at Carshalton Athletic. After a scrappy first-half, it appeared that Wimbledon had got off to a perfect start in the second-half when Steph Mann’s deflected shot seemed to cross the line, but the referee thought otherwise. However, there was not long to wait before Billingham’s decisive strike, and the Dons prevented Enfield from conjuring up an equalizer in a second-half of few chances.

**Above:** Hannah Billingham receives the El Sueno Tequila Player of the Match Award after AFC Wimbledon’s win over Enfield Town at Plough Lane yesterday. **Photo:** AFC Wimbledon.

First-team coach Andy May said: “It was a game more about our character and our personality. We had to work hard and dig deep. We didn’t play the football we know we can, but once again we showed that character, hunger, and desire to win the game. There were pleasing elements, but also aspects that we need to look at to make sure the football is at the standard that we need.”

El Sueno Tequila player of the match Hannah Billingham said: “It was a difficult game, but credit to Enfield as they came at us and made it hard. Off the back of a good win last week, we are a bit disappointed with our performance, but three points is three points and that’s all that matters really.”

Next up for the Dons is Sunday’s vital clash at home to league leaders Hashtag United (2.00 pm kick-off at Carshalton Athletic FC).

Teams: AFC WIMBLEDON: Baker, Russell, Highman, Sargent, Billingham, Mann, Stow, Taylor (Childerhouse), Stanley, Hincks (Lewry then Sampson), Carter (Siber).

Scorer: Billingham 55′.

ENFIELD TOWN: Taylor, Slater, Powell, Carpanini, Fowle, O’Leary, Cooper, Kmita, Littlechild, Nash, Thomas. Substitutes: Romer, McKevitt, Smith, Darroux, Munro.